Associated Press

Stories by Associated Press

News

Government proposes letting airline passengers make phone calls

by Associated Press on Dec 08, 20:16

WASHINGTON (AP) – The government is proposing that airlines be allowed to permit their passengers to make phone calls during flights using Wi-Fi despite complaints from flight attendants and others that the calls could be disruptive. The Department of Transportation’s proposal leaves it up to airlines whether to allow the calls. But carriers would be […]

Health

A grim tally soars: More than 50,000 overdose deaths in US

by Associated Press on Dec 08, 20:08

NEW YORK (AP) – Health officials say more than 50,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, the most ever. The disastrous tally has been pushed to new heights by soaring abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers, a class of drugs known as opioids. The new numbers were part of the annual tally of deaths […]

Alaska News

State regulators look to update petroleum cleanup guidelines

by Associated Press on Dec 08, 7:42

Alaska officials are working to revise decades-old protocols to be used in the event of petroleum-based spills. KTOO-FM reports that the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation met in November to discuss an overhaul of the agency’s regulations for cleaning up petroleum spills. Sally Schlichting, who handles policy and regulation for contaminated sites for the DEC, says […]

Military

Kodiak, military officials meet over military exercises

by Associated Press on Dec 08, 7:36

Kodiak and military officials are meeting to help assuage community concerns about military exercises in the Gulf of Alaska. The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports that Northern Command Liaison Officer to Alaska Command Col. Chris Reifel met with the Kodiak City Council on Tuesday to address Northern Edge, a U.S. Pacific Command exercise in the Gulf of […]

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Alaska News

Responders search for 2 missing crew members off Aleutians

by Associated Press on Dec 07, 13:39

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Responders are searching for two missing crewmembers after three others were rescued from a sinking fishing vessel off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. The Coast Guard says three crew members of the 117-foot vessel Exito were rescued Tuesday night by a good Samaritan crew from another vessel. Petty Officer Meredith Manning says the […]

Alaska News

Sitka hydroelectric plant down for repairs; city on diesel

by Associated Press on Dec 07, 7:19

SITKA, Alaska (AP) – The city of Sitka has been using diesel generators to fulfill resident’s increasing power demands as a hydroelectric plant remains shut down for repairs. The Sitka Sentinel reports that electric utility director Bryan Bertacchi says it costs around $4,000 a day to run the diesel machines during morning and evening peak […]

Anchorage/Mat-Su

Anchorage straggles behind as other cities open pot shops

by Associated Press on Dec 07, 7:09

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Marijuana shops have started to open up for business in Fairbanks, Juneau and Valdez, but Anchorage is still weeks away from having its first open pot retailer. Alaska Public Radio Network reports Enlighten Alaska co-owner Jane Stinson says the business in Anchorage’s Spenard neighborhood has experienced some setbacks. She says thieves stole […]

Aviation

Alaska Airlines gets US approval to buy Virgin America

by Associated Press on Dec 06, 11:41

Alaska Airlines has won government approval to buy rival Virgin America after agreeing to reduce its flight-selling partnership with American Airlines. Parent company Alaska Air Group Inc. said Tuesday that it expects to close the $2.6 billion deal soon. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit and settlement agreement in federal district court in Washington. Seattle-based […]

Alaska News

Juneau company purchases property for seawater heating plant

by Associated Press on Dec 06, 9:00

A waterfront property in downtown Juneau could change the way the city is heated. The Juneau Empire reports that Juneau Hydropower Inc. has entered an agreement with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority to buy a 2-acre lot of land in downtown Juneau. The $1.3 million deal isn’t finalized, but the Mental Health Trust’s board has […]

Money

Alaska minimum wage to rise to $9.80 starting Jan. 1

by Associated Press on Dec 05, 15:40

Alaska’s minimum wage will rise by a nickel, to $9.80 an hour, beginning Jan. 1. Voters in 2014 approved increasing the minimum wage from $7.75 an hour. Under the measure, the minimum wage rose to $8.75 an hour in 2015 and to $9.75 an hour at the start of 2016. Going forward, the wage is […]

Alaska News

Driver shot by Juneau police released from Seattle hospital, arrested on separate warrant

by Associated Press on Dec 05, 13:26

A man shot Saturday by a Juneau police officer has been released from a Seattle hospital. Juneau police say 38-year-old Jeremie Tinney was treated at Harborview Medical Center, released Sunday and arrested on a Washington state warrant. The charges include assault on a child, harassment and a probation violation. Juneau police say Tinney just before […]

Alaska News

Woman sentenced for stealing $100K from North Slope police

by Associated Press on Dec 05, 8:19

A Fairbanks woman charged with embezzling more than $100,000 from the North Slope Borough Police Department while she worked there as an evidence custodian has been sentenced to less than a year in prison. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that Margaret Ann Solomon was given an eight-month prison sentence Friday and ordered to pay the […]

US/World

Coast Guard to begin hearings on Alaska Juris sinking

by Associated Press on Dec 04, 19:08

The U.S. Coast Guard is holding a series of hearings in Seattle to determine what caused the flooding that sank a fishing vessel off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands last year. The Seattle Times reports the 230-foot Alaska Juris sank in July 2015 after a problem in the engine room led to flooding on board. All 46 […]

Fidel Castro’s ashes were interred in a private ceremony Sunday morning, ending nine days of mourning for the man who ruled Cuba for nearly half a century. The military caravan bearing his remains in a flag-draped cedar coffin left the Plaza of the Revolution in the eastern city of Santiago at 6:39 a.m., returning empty […]

U.S. Politics

Green Party drops bid for statewide Pennsylvania recount

by Associated Press on Dec 03, 17:29

The Green Party is dropping its court case seeking a statewide recount of Pennsylvania’s Nov. 8 presidential election. It had wanted to explore whether voting machines and systems had been hacked and the election result manipulated. The decision came Saturday, two days before a court hearing in the case. Lawyers for the Green Party-backed voters […]

US/World

Scholar says China concerned about Trump policy following Taiwan call

by Associated Press on Dec 03, 17:28

China’s foreign minister says he hopes Beijing’s relations with the U.S. won’t be “interfered with or damaged” after President-elect Donald Trump broke with decades-long diplomatic tradition and spoke directly with Taiwan’s leader. Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV reports that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday the call between Taiwan’s president and Trump was “just a […]

US/World

Bergdahl seeks pardon from Obama to avert desertion trial

by Associated Press on Dec 03, 17:22

A former prisoner of war accused of endangering his U.S. comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan is asking President Barack Obama to pardon him before leaving office. White House and Justice Department officials say U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl submitted the clemency request. If granted, it would allow Bergdahl to avert a court-martial […]

Alaska News

Alaska Marine Highway System prepares to sell ferry Taku

by Associated Press on Dec 03, 13:23

The Alaska Marine Highway System is working to get rid of the state ferry Taku. The Ketchikan Daily News reports that Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman Jeremy Woodrow says the state has not yet decided how it will dispose of the ferry, but it has received permission from the Federal Highway Administration to sell the […]

Business/Economy

Economist: Alaska is in a recession

by Associated Press on Dec 02, 19:26

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A state labor department economist says Alaska is in a recession, facing job losses across most sectors of the economy amid chronically low oil prices. Caroline Schultz says the recession likely began at the end of 2015. Job numbers released by the department Friday show average monthly employment in the first […]

U.S. Politics

Trump speaks with Taiwan’s president, risking China tensions

by Associated Press on Dec 02, 16:45

NEW YORK (AP) – Donald Trump has spoken with the president of Taiwan, a self-governing island the U.S. broke diplomatic ties with in 1979. It is highly unusual, perhaps unprecedented, for a U.S. president or president-elect to speak directly with a Taiwanese leader. The U.S. cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan when it shifted diplomatic […]